Get a glimpse of Ilocos Sur history via visita iglesia

CANDON CITY – You can do your visita iglesia in Ilocos Sur and get a glimpse of the province's religiosity and history. Deputy Speaker Eric D. Singson said that he is making a Visita Iglesia including seven or more churches in the province for the Holy Week. Singson said that these churches are near the highway so they would be convenient for travelers. Farthest toward north is the Sinait Church, which houses the miraculous Statue of the Black Nazarene. The statue is known as Apo Lakay is said to have saved Vigan residents from a plague in the 18th Century. It was found in a sealed casket along the coast of Sinait town and enshrined here, Singson said. The church in Cabugao was dedicated to San Marcos Evangelista and first built in 1695. It was damaged repeatedly and was rebuilt in 1824. The wooden retablo or altar of the Church of St. William the Hermit in Magsingal is also worth seeing because it is one of the oldest of its kind in the country. The Bantay Church is Neo-Gothic in style and was built in the 1530s. Cineastes however would be more fascinated with the bell tower because it was featured in many films of the late Fernando Poe Jr. The St. Paul Cathedral in Vigan City is the seat of Nueva Segovia and was built in what is called as Earthquake Baroque with thick buttresses to guard it against quakes. The belfry was built a few meters away so that in any earthshaking event, one of the structures would be standing. The Simbaan a Bassit in Vigan is the only one in Ilocos with an espadana hung with bells. It is cemetery chapel built in 1852. The Nuestra Senora de la Asuncion Church in Sta. Maria, built in 1765, was included in the World Heritage List in 1993 because it was a showcase of Baroque architecture. You have to climb more than 83 steps towards the church, which overlooks the town and the sea. It was a fortress during the Philippine Revolution in 1896. The San Juan de Sahagun Church in Candon is now sporting a new pair of 150-foot paintings on the ceiling, finished only this year with the help of Rep. Singson. Tableaux from the Holy Rosary were painted by a young artist from Narvacan, Singson said. Nearest to Manila is the Sta. Lucia church known for its Renaissance architecture complete with a dome. The consoles projecting down from the cornice and the four-story belfry make it one of the more attractive churches in the North. Singson said that the Visita Iglesia in Ilocos Sur during the Holy Week include the singing of the Ilocano pabasa of the pasyon as well as the palibot where the patron saints and other holy statues are paraded around the town center on Good Friday. - GMANews.TV